Carved in Stone
by Dragonhulk
Summary: While on patrol just before graduation Xander meets a very interesting female that will alter the course of his life.
1. Chapter 1

Carved in Stone

Disclaimer: I don't own Gargoyles or Buffy. If I had my way Gargoyles would still be cranking out new episodes every week, but the universe seems to care very little for my opinion.

Ratting: Teen

Summery: While on patrol just before graduation Xander meets a very interesting female that will alter the course of his life.

Authors Notes: Sorry folks the characters from the Gargoyles cartoon won't show up for a while, but they will show up. I will also be messing with the Gargoyles timeline a bit as you will see, and I'm also going to be bringing in elements from the Gargoyles comics, as well as the rumored spin-offs.

"Why did I think this was a good idea?" Xander asked himself as he wandered down the street after dark, alone. "I mean yeah, I took out those zombies, but that's a big step away from patrolling by myself."

Suddenly Xander heard an ear splitting shriek, followed by an inhuman roar. It was obvious that something bad was happing close to him.

'You know if this was a movie, people would be yelling at me to be smart and run the other direction,' thought Xander as he ran towards the sound of the conflict.

The sight he saw frightened him to the core. Right there in the middle of the park a big green _something_ was tearing through a group of humans like they were tissue paper. Of course it was at this point nature decided to throw him for a loop as one of the previously thought humans turned to dust as the larger demon ripped of the vampires head.

Deciding to let the larger demon do all the heavy work Xander calmly walked around and dusted the mangled corpses, while trying to keep out of sight of the green demon.

Wait, scratch that last statement. Even though the green creature wasn't even close to being human there was no mistaking that it was female. Well that is unless the males of that species had the same defining attributes as human females, you never could tell with demons.

As Xander watched the fight he had to once again consider his theory that turning into a vampire made you extremely stupid. The green female was about six feet tall, had talons instead of fingers or toes, a bone spike coming out of her tail that she obviously knew how to use on vampires, and was using what looked like a tomahawk like she was born with it in her hand. If the bloodsuckers had two brain cells they would have run away the second they saw her instead of attacking her.

Of course his luck being what it was this was the moment that the killing machine noticed Xander. And as the creature turned her glowing blood red eyes towards him Xander just barely succeeded in not passing out, something he would have to remember to celebrate if he lived through the next five minutes.

As the creature got down on her hands and legs and started to gallop towards Xander, the founding member of the Scooby's drew the short sword he had been carrying, figuring that a stake would be less than useless in this situation. Of course considering that this monster could rip his head off with its bare hands, he wasn't sure just how useful a short sword would be either.

All of these thoughts passed through his head in the few precious seconds it took for the creature to reach him and leap toward him. Using all the skills he had learned in his years fighting vampires Xander used all of his upper body strength to send the sword gracefully along a deadly arc that was guaranteed to expose the vital organs of his opponent to fresh air, if only it had connected with said opponent. Instead the sword whistled harmlessly through the air connecting with nothing more than a few gas molecules, causing Xander to overbalance and fall flat on his face.

Groaning Xander opened his eyes, he was sure that the sight that would greet him would be a green taloned hand about to slash his throat. Needless to say he was surprised when the sight that greeted his eyes was not his quickly approaching death, but the green she demon fighting a Polgara demon that had been sneaking up behind him.

The fight between the demons seemed to be more evenly matched this time. The Polgara seemed to be just as strong as the forest green she-demon, and the armor on the new arrival seemed to balance out her skill with a tomahawk.

As the fight went on Xander couldn't shake the feeling that the female was actually trying to protect him, not just ignoring him for a better opponent. It was crazy, and his thoughts concerning non-human females was admittedly flawed, but it was the way he felt.

The fight was brutal, with the green monster taking large chunks out of the other demons natural armor with her weapon or her talons, but for every chunk she took out she seemed to receive a long gash somewhere on her body. After just a few short minutes only her wings were unmarred by wounds, or the blood that poured out of these injuries.

When the end came, Xander wasn't surprised to see the victor collapse onto the ground soon after the dead body of her opponent. The battle had been harsh, but now it was Xander's job to finish it.

As he walked over to the fallen creature Xander watched her chest rise and fall, as she took one shallow breath after another. There were many times that he was tempted to turn around and let her live, but he quickly and brutally squashed those feelings. This was an unknown demon, on a Hellmouth, if he didn't kill her now there may not be a later.

When he finally stood over the creature, his sword raised, she turned her head using what was left of her strength to see the face of her executioner. Now up close her face looked so human. Her eyes were no longer a demonic red, but a soft brown like his own eyes. As she locked eyes with him, her face became a mask of such fear and sorrow, that he hesitated the few moments the sun needed to peek over the horizon, and turn her to stone.

As Xander examined the stone statue that had been a flesh and blood creature moments before he tried to bring images of Ms. French and Ampata to his mind, but every time he thought he had worked up enough reason to get a hammer to make sure the creature was dead, his eyes would be drawn back to her face. The stone statue that the creature had become seemed to enhance the emotions that were playing across her face in the seconds before she was frozen, and every time he saw them he just couldn't bring himself to shatter her.

Sighing, Xander slowly started to walk out of the graveyard. He had to find a pay phone so Giles would know what had happened, and then he was going to do the stupidest thing he could think of and go back to the statue to make sure that no one else shattered her. He really hated proving his teachers right.


	2. Communication

"Hey, Giles, over here," Xander called out as the Librarian finally came to the area of the park Xander had been guarding for the last half hour.

"Okay I'm here, now exactly what was it you needed my expert opinion on," grumbled the Englishman in a very annoyed tone.

"This," said Xander as he pointed to the statue, one that looked completely harmless and not at all threatening in the early morning light.

"Xander," Giles growled as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "All evidence aside, I do not think you are dull, or slow witted. To the contrary you have proven yourself quite intelligent by coming up with remarkably creative solutions to impossible problems. Now holding that last statement to be true, I must inform you that if you woke me up after only three hours of sleep only to look at a bloody statue, Snyder will stand in awe at just how miserable I will make your life."

"Speaking as someone who thinks that forcing someone to get up before noon should be a crime punishable by death, I can sympathize, but this is a special case. The thing is that before the sun came up she was a full on flesh and blood demon that took out a group of vamps and a Polgara."

"It can't be," whispered Giles in an almost reverent voice as he dropped down to his knees and started to run his hands over the smooth stone. "No tool marks, it's a gargoyle, a true gargoyle."

"Uh, you're kind of freaking me out here Giles," said Xander as he stared at the Englishman.

"Oh yes, sorry about that," Giles said as he stood up and brushed himself off. "I suppose some explanations are in order."

"Well yeah, that's why I called you. From the way you were acting earlier I figure that you know what she is, so now the question is do we need to kill her."

"Absolutely not," said Giles in a very firm voice. "Gargoyles are unique among the nonhuman inhabitants of the world in that they actively fight to protect humanity where other friendly races are neutral at best."

"Cool, so how come I haven't heard of them before now? You'd think that with them protecting people and all they'd be way up there on the do not kill list."

"Small minded bigots and a few bad seeds I'm afraid," said Giles. "Because of their physical appearance it is all too easy for people to see them as demons that would cause them harm. This fear has caused humanity to turn against gargoyles again and again, killing noble beings when they were asleep and couldn't fight back. I'm ashamed to admit that some of the more hard edged members of the Watchers Counsel have fanned the flames in the past, despite having documentation on their true nature."

"So they have the endangered species deal going then," said Xander as his gaze turned to the fearful expression that was frozen just a few feet away.

"Very much so I'm afraid," Giles said with a bit of a sigh. "At the moment the Council only knows of five groups of gargoyles scattered across the world. There may be more hidden in remote locations where the Council doesn't have a presence, but I doubt there are that many more."

"So where is she from?"

"I don't have a clue," said Giles with a genuine smile. "While gargoyles have a great amount of genetic diversity in even small groups, many have regional identifiers, such as resembling local fauna. I'm not seeing any familiar characteristics, and the tomahawk indicates Native American ties, so I'm assuming that she's from an unknown group."

"You know Giles having a super brain about things that go bump in the night is kind of your trademark, but all this info is going above and beyond considering you haven't looked at one book," Xander said as he closely studied the older man. The best description of Giles at the moment would be geeky, and not the normal bookworm geeky but the kind of geeky that would result if Xander met Superman or something.

"Guilty as charged," said Giles, his smile never faltering. "I became fascinated with them as I was studying non-hostile species in the course of becoming a Watcher. I even met a couple back in my Ripper days."

"How was it?"

"A bit of a disappointment actually," the ex-Watcher said as he sat down on the ground. If he was going to talk about his favorite subject he may as well be comfortable doing so. "They both appeared to be simple bookstore owners, exhibiting none of the traits I read about that made them desirable to meet. I suppose the sad fact is that to survive anywhere close to a group of humans, gargoyles have had to curb their instincts to protect so that they may remain hidden."

"What about her? Personally I can't see her in a bookstore or a library," the young man said right before a thought occurred to him. "Well okay I can see her in the school library but that's built over a mouth of hell, so it doesn't count."

"Point," said Giles as a bit of humor crept into his voice. "Judging by her appearance and your story I'd say it's safe to assume that she is more of a protector than the gargoyles that I encountered."

"So what's the plan here Giles? Unless you say otherwise I'm just going to call up Buffy and Faith and tell them that the demonic looking Xena here is on the do not kill list, then go to bed," said Xander as he stifled a yawn. Hunting straggling vamps and demons that liked to stay out close to sunrise was a good plan tacitly, but one that his inner slacker hated.

"Usually I'd agree that would be the best course, but I simply can't let an opportunity like this pass. I'm going to stay in this area to ensure that no harm comes to her before she wakes up at sundown."

"Cool." Xander turned to leave to get some shut eye, but took one more look at the sorrow that had been temporarily set in stone, and then turned back. "Do you think it'd be a good idea for me to be here Giles? You know, to apologize for making her think I was going to kill her."

The elder librarian couldn't help but smile at the maturity that the often annoying young man was showing. "I think that would be an excellent idea. Afterward we can even have a discussion about just what you were doing wandering around Sunnydale at night, without any backup."

"Uh yeah, really looking forward to that," said Xander in a way that even a blind and deaf person could tell that it was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Good. Now go home and get some sleep."

"Okay Giles, see you later." Xander turned and started to walk towards home. He needed some sleep, then food, then some more sleep. Something told him he wouldn't be getting much of either item after the sun went down.

* * *

Xander arrived a few minutes before sundown, and found Giles in very un-Giles like clothing. "So what's with the normal clothes today G-man?"

"You have no room to talk about others fashion choices as long as you have one Hawaiian shirt that hasn't met its end in an incinerator. Tweed may not be appropriate for spending the day in a park, but at least it speaks of sophistication and higher learning."

"You keep telling yourself that Giles, maybe someday someone will believe you."

Any further banter was cut off as the sun finally completely sank under the horizon, and the guest of honor began to wake up. The first thing Xander noticed was the sound, like ice splitting when you pour hot liquids over it. Next a visible web of cracks formed along the surface of the statue, showing glimpses of living flesh beneath. The last part was the most surprising though. The gargoyle let out a deafening roar as she burst out of her stone shell, eyes blazing that eerie red that they had shone during the battle last night.

"Xander, put the stake away," said Giles in an even voice.

Xander looked down to the stake in his hand before doing what Giles had asked him to do. "Sorry Giles, she wakes up a bit more loudly then she goes to sleep."

The London native simply gave a slight nod to show that he understood before he started to walk toward the gargoyle. He made sure that his steps were measured and steady, arms away from his torso, and palms facing forward so he would look as non-threatening as possible.

"Do you understand the language I am speaking?" When the gargoyle simply gave him a confused look Giles repeated the question in each language he knew, none of witch sparked a look of understanding.

"I was afraid of this. Xander would you be so kind as to light the candle located where I was sitting earlier?"

The man whose name was still whispered in fear in some of the darker corners of London closed his eyes and cleared his mind. The magic flowed through him, and into the creature of myth standing just a few short feet in front of him.

"Do you understand the language I am speaking?"

"Yes." The ridges over her brows came together in a look that screamed confusion at her comprehension. "How is this possible?"

"I used a minor spell to help us communicate. The artificial knowledge will fade after a few months, but hopefully by that time you'll have gained enough true knowledge to understand what is being said."

"Thank you," the gargoyle said, her voice surprisingly soft considering her tough appearance.

"Think nothing of it. However if you feel so inclined as to answer a few questions before you go about your business I would be very grateful."

"I too have questions that need to be answered. Perhaps an exchanging of information is needed?"

"That sounds perfect. If you would be so kind as to follow us I'll lead you to a place where the more unsavory members of the town are unlikely to bother us," said Giles.

When the gargoyle nodded her consent Giles started to walk out of the park, heading for the Library forcing Xander to jog a bit to catch up. The situation was just a bit surreal for him, and considering his nighttime activities that was saying something.

"Hey Giles, why is the gargoyle speaking with a slight British accent now?" Xander asked the older man once he had caught up.

"A side effect of the spell. It was developed so that a Watcher and Slayer could communicate even if they both spoke different languages by dumping the native language of the Watcher into the brain of the Slayer. As a result the recipient of the language dump takes on some regional inflections until they learn to speak the language themselves."

"Ah gotcha. So just how much is it worth to you for me not to tell Buffy you knew this spell when she was failing French?"

"It's worth enough that I'll inform her about your early morning escapades when she is in a good mood instead of a murderous one." The Englishman stated with a feral grin that Xander didn't think he could have managed back when he was possessed by the hyena spirit.

"Okay, shutting up now."

"A wise decision," said Giles before letting the rest of the walk pass by in silence, and for their new gargoyle companion to wonder about the sanity of the humans she may have to trust.


	3. Star light, star bright

"Okay I'm here so what's ohmygoddess!" babbled Willow the moment she caught sight of the gargoyle.

"Yeah, that was our reaction too. Well except that we didn't say so much as try to kill it," said Faith.

"Yes, despite my direct instructions not to make any aggressive moves when you arrived. Honestly, she's been through quite enough already without you adding to things," said Giles, making sure that he emphasized words that would refer to the guest as a person and not a thing.

Faith simply shrugged in response. If the Watcher said not to kill it she'd leave it alone until it decided to make someone its midnight snack.

"Is Oz going to be joining us shortly Willow?" asked the librarian.

"Um no, he had band practice and, because you didn't sound like this was an end of the world thing, he's not coming."

"Well I suppose that's everyone then," said Giles as he looked at the two slayers, one witch, and one normal young man before turning towards the non-human occupant of the room. "I'm sorry for making you wait so long, but I thought it best if I gathered everyone first, so you wouldn't have to repeat your story."

"I understand," said the green creature with a slight nod of her head. "My story begins long before I was hatched, with the formation of my tribe.

"Before the stars shown in the sky the world had been infected by a great evil. This evil started by killing the land and forcing the four races into conflict with each other, but that was only the beginning.

"During the height of the war between the four races the world was invaded from beyond. They came from abominable scars in the sky and ground, slaughtering the weakened forces of the four races.

"What followed was an age of blood. The invaders kept the true inhabitants of the world as slaves to torture, but this would be their greatest mistake.

"The four races were once again able to band together and drive back the invaders, but the world had already been damaged. The invaders had mingled their blood with the four races, and their descendents weren't driven out as easily, the Earth recognizing that they were her children, at least in part.

"The most tragic cost of the war was the obliteration of the Forgotten Race, leaving Gargoyles, Human, and Fey to guard the portals that lead to the home of the invaders, so that they will never return. My tribe was entrusted to guard this portal.

"We did our duty for countless generations, using magic to protect the portal during the day while we slept. This was our way, and it would have continued to be our way if our greatest magic user hadn't had a vision.

"He saw the humans of this land killed, and humans from another land taking over. He also saw that if we remained, we would be killed while we slept.

"The thought of completely abandoning our positions was unfavorable to all. Before we even discussed how we would save our tribe, we first had to find a way to make sure the portal wasn't opened.

"We cast two great spells. The first was a much more powerful version of the spell that we cast before every dawn, muting the energies of the portal, hiding its location from the evil that still roams the world. The second called other protectors to this place, so that they could defend the portal while we could not.

"After these two spells had been cast we could think how to save our tribe. After arguing for a great amount of time, our elders decided that we would use a spell that would let us sleep the ages away, until a member of the tribe brought a leader from another gargoyle tribe to our resting place. The leader must stand before our leader and announce that it is once again safe to awaken."

"I take it that you were appointed to find the gargoyle leader and bring him here?" asked Giles.

"Yes, I have one year to find one and bring him before my leader before I once again fall under the effects of the spell."

"Not that this isn't interesting and all, but what does this have to do with us?" asked Faith.

"Think for a moment. For untold years these gargoyles have fought to keep the Hellmouth closed, and more importantly they succeeded. They have experience fighting demons, and their numbers alone would be of great help. As much as we may wish otherwise, we are in a war, so it's always to our advantage to aid a potential ally."

"So what's the plan then, put her on a plane and send her to one of the other groups you mentioned?" asked Xander, speaking for the first time.

"It's a possibility I admit, but I don't think it would be the best course of action. I think it would be best if she remained here for a while, to get used to this time so she may be able to aid the rest of her tribe when they awaken."

The entire group was distracted by the sound of wood being snapped apart. All eyes turned to see the gargoyle holding two pieces that used to be firmly attached to the table were now clutched in the hands of their guest. Her eyes were once again glowing red, and Xander remembered just how frightening she could be.

"I take it you disagree?" asked Giles in a surprisingly calm voice.

"My tribe has been asleep for too long already. I have gone through this five times already; I will not go through it a sixth."

"You won't," said Giles in a firm tone. "But be honest with yourself, have you ever seen anything like this building, or anything else in this town? I admit that I don't know much about the Native Americans that your tribe may have come in contact with in the past, but this world is far different from anything they could have imagined in your time. In truth, the world has changed drastically in just a hundred years. It will be difficult enough helping you to adjust, but doing the same for an entire tribe at the same time would be impossible. If you know the ins and outs of this world you could better explain it to the rest of your tribe when they awaken."

With what seemed like a supreme effort of willpower the emerald gargoyle forced herself to calm down and listen to the librarian. It was true that she had seen wonders beyond her imagining in the short time after she had awakened, why they could even produce light without a fire or any magic that she could see.

"Fine," she growled. "As soon as I think I have learned enough, or in nine months time, you will take me to one of the gargoyle tribes you mentioned."

"Agreed," said Giles.

"Now that that's over with I got a question here," said Faith as soon as she felt the argument was done. "What's your name, 'cause it's gong to get real old calling out 'hey you' or 'green chick' all the time."

"A name?" asked the gargoyle, the ridges over her eyes coming together in genuine confusion.

"Yeah a name, as in I'm Faith, she's Buffy, and he's Xander," said Faith, pointing to each individual in turn.

"Now I understand," said the gargoyle. "I have heard that humans did this, but I thought it was just a story to tell hatchlings. I don't have a name, no gargoyle does."

"That's not true anymore," said Giles. "Gargoyles have been taking names for centuries, at least the ones I know of."

"If that's true, then I suppose I can try a name," said the gargoyle as she searched Giles' face for the truth of his words.

"How about Polaris?" piped up Xander before anyone else even came up with a name.

"The north star," said Giles in an approving tone. "I must admit that is a rather mature and insightful suggestion Xander."

"You name the stars?" asked the gargoyle, shocked by Giles' confirming nod. "Humans truly are strange creatures, but if I am to be named after anything I suppose it should be something I see every night."

"Well Polaris it is then. If you want I can point out exactly what star you're named after."

"I would like that," said the newly named Polaris as she followed Giles out the door.

As soon as the door closed Willow stood up, walked the length of the library, and smacked Xander in the shoulder. "A comic book character? You meet a cool mythical creature and you name her after a comic book character?"

"Hey!" yelled Xander as he dodged the playful slaps. "You heard Giles, I named her after the north star. Just because there happens to be a hot comic book character with the same name and green hair is beside the point. You're just mad because now Giles knows that I'm mature and insightful."

This last statement would have probably gone over better if the dark haired young man hadn't stuck his tongue out at his childhood friend. Then again if he hadn't it would have signaled that something had changed inside of him, and he didn't want his friend to worry.


	4. Doubling the Tweed

Xander snuck into the library just like he had a couple of nights before. It wasn't that he liked taking weapons from Giles but he was on a bit of a budget at the moment. Besides he returned them so it wasn't really stealing.

"What are you doing?" asked a voice from the darkness.

Spinning around Xander leveled the short sword he had just grabbed towards where he thought the voice was coming from. Two seconds later the only thought that went through his head was that the paint on the ceiling looked really nice in the moonlight and he should ask Giles just what color it was.

Thirty seconds after that he registered the glowing red eyes looking at him. It was vaguely disturbing that his life had reached the point where glowing red eyes weren't always a bad thing, but it was still his life.

"Hey Polaris, thanks for the mild concussion, I just healed from the last one so I needed a new one," said Xander as soon as he could think again.

"A new what?" asked the confused gargoyle as the red glow faded from her eyes.

"Never mind," said Xander as he got up from the floor. "So is hanging out in the library with all the lights turned off a normal thing for you or is this a special occasion."

The gargoyle looked a bit confused, much like the one Giles got every time Buffy used valley girl speak, but understood enough to say, "I have been here for the last two nights trying to learn how to read."

"I thought the spell took care of that?"

"No, it only allowed me to understand your language. I must learn to read on my own, but Mr. Giles tells me I am making remarkable progress."

"Yeah, I can see that," said Xander as he spotted a moderately sized book on the table that he had used for a book report last year. It was a light read for anyone who had been learning to read for year, for someone that had only been at it for a few days it was a big accomplishment. "Doesn't explain the whole lack of lights though."

"I don't need them," said Polaris as she folded her wings into a kind of cloak. "My entire life I have seen with only the light of the moon, stars and the occasional fire to guide me. I'm most comfortable not using your lights so I avoid it unless it's necessary."

Suddenly the light turned on as Giles entered the room. The Englishman took one look at the occupants of the room, sighed, and sat down for what would be a long conversation.

"So Xander, were you just in the process of taking my weapons or returning them?"

Xander held up his hands and started to say the first things that came into his mind. "Now don't be mad Giles, hey wait, that wasn't a mad tone of voice. There was a lot of annoyance there but not so much with the outrage."

"I quite got over that a few days ago when I recognized the short sword you were using the day you found Polaris as one from my armory," said Giles as he nodded towards the short sword lying on the ground close to where Xander stood. "Now if you would be kind enough to answer my question."

"Um… I was going," said Xander, feeling uncomfortable being the center of attention for both Polaris and Giles.

"Any particular reason you're choosing this time to begin a patrol?" asked Giles in a carefully neutral voice.

"Well other than making sure it's a short one because dawn is coming, it's February. The days are shorter, but school starts at the same time so this time of year there are a lot of kids walking to school in the dark. I figure it would be a good thing to have somebody out there to make sure no one turns into an early morning snack."

Giles simply sat for a long time with his eyes closed, making Xander even more uncomfortable before saying, "I've never easily admitted when I was wrong, but I think I have done you a great disservice, and for that I'm sorry. Starting today I will talk to Buffy to make sure you are fully included once again. This means that you will patrol with either Buffy, Faith, Polaris, or Angel, but not alone. It's too close to dawn for you to patrol with Polaris, and the others are probably still asleep so the children of Sunnydale will have to fend for themselves for one more night, agreed?"

"Okay," responded Xander. He didn't really like the idea of letting people walk to school unprotected, but Giles was making a good point. Though he had to admit, even if it was just to himself, that his decision had more to do with Giles getting him back into the slaying club. Giles was still concerned with Xander's safety and didn't want him to take any risks, but he was willing to help Xander be more than just the doughnut boy. Xander didn't know what kind of man backing down like this made him, but hopefully it was someone he could live with.

"Well now that we have that settled how about you use the energy you were going to use fighting to help me organize for the day," said Giles.

Xander was about to decline, but realized that he should probably do something to thank Giles for what the older man was about to do so he simply said, "Sure thing Giles, what do you need me to do."

In the upper level of the library Polaris has watched the entire exchange with confusion. Xander possessed the potential to become a decent warrior, but for some reason his friends had attempted to make him stop fighting.

Shaking her head the gargoyle decided that the issue had apparently been resolved and that was all that mattered. If she was going to help bring her people into this brave new world then she would simply have to accept that humans were strange creatures and not try too hard to understand their motives if she wanted to avoid an unreasonable amount of headaches.

* * *

"Fascinating," said the young Englishman as he inspected the stone form of Polaris. "I must admit that despite reading about gargoyles during my training I didn't have any hope of meeting one unless the slayer I was assigned was stationed close to one of the known remaining groups.

"I've heard that they are rather disruptive when they first awaken, is that true?"

"Oh no, she's as quiet as a cat," responded Giles, intentionally omitting that fact that Polaris sounded like a very large and angry cat when she first awakened. Just because he wasn't going to let the twit get himself killed didn't mean he still couldn't have some fun.

"Good," said the younger man as he finished his inspection. "Not that it would bother me if it were true, training procedures have been updated quite a bit since your day. Much greater emphasis on field work."

"Really?" asked Giles in a tone that he had hoped would convey just how bored he was. The young man was truly stupid if he expected people to listen when he droned on like this.

"Oh yes. Not all books and theories nowadays. I have, in fact, faced two vampires myself. Under controlled circumstances, of course."

"Well, no danger of finding those here," said Giles as he seriously began to revise his earlier opinion of making sure the person in front of him survived his time in Sunnydale. According to Darwin if young Mr. Wyndam-Pryce were to get himself killed and remove his genetics from the gene pool the human race would be stronger for it.

"Vampires?"

"Controlled circumstances," responded Giles as Buffy walked into the room. "Hello Buffy."

"Yes, hello," said the young man with a smug smile on his lips as he looked down at Buffy.

Buffy looked at the bookish young man who thought he had some power over her and came to a conclusion. Turning toward Giles she simply asked, "New Watcher?"

"New Watcher," confirmed Giles with a nod.

"Wesley Wyndam-Pryce," said the new Watcher as he extended his hand in greeting.

"Is he evil?" asked Buffy as she completely ignored the outstretched hand.

"Evil?" asked a confused Wesley as he slowly put his hand down.

"The last one was evil," stated Buffy.

"Oh, yes. Gwendolyn Post, we all heard about that. No, Mr. Giles has checked my credentials rather thoroughly and phoned the Council, but I'm glad to see you're on the ball as well. A good Slayer is cautious Slayer."

"Is he evil?" Buffy once again asked Giles, a hint of pleading in her voice.

"Not in the strictest sense," said Giles, wondering if someone could be classified evil if they became too annoying. No, if that were possible he would have had Xander killed long ago.

"Well, I'm glad that's cleared up," said Wesley as he walked over to the library table and picked up his watcher diary. "Now as I'm sure none of us are anxious to waste any time on pleasantries, why don't you tell me everything about last night's patrol."

"A good idea, but if I may have a moment alone with Buffy first?" said Giles before the blond slayer could say anything.

"A yes," said Wesley thinking that the overly emotional ex Watcher was going to simply say a goodbye of some sorts. "Just keep it short if you would, we have pressing business to attend to."

"Yes, quite," said Giles as he led Buffy out of the library.

"Okay Giles, what's the deal?" asked Buffy as soon as they were out of the library.

"I wished to speak to you about some matters I though it better that speak to you about them away from Wesley. The most important favor I'll ask you is to cooperate with your new Watcher," said Giles.

"Wait, the guy is sent here to replace you and you want me to be nice to him?" asked Buffy.

"Good Lord no," said Giles with a smile. "I personally detest the man and think you should only be nice to him if by some miracle or other he earns your respect. What I am asking you to do is not hold anything back when you report the nights slaying activity to him. Like it or not he is an official Watcher and I am not. This means he has access to information that I don't, information that could mean the difference between life and death."

"Don't hold anything back, but nice is not required, gotcha," said the blond chosen one. "So what's the other favor?"

"Let Xander participate in the patrols again," the Englishman said as he prepared himself for the fight he was sure was coming.

"What?!" hissed Buffy, quickly remembering that it wouldn't be the best idea to shout. "We talked about this and all agreed, it's too dangerous for Xander to patrol with me."

"If it's dangerous for him to patrol with someone who has the strength and speed to fight demons then how much more dangerous is it for him to patrol by himself?" countered Giles.

"Are you saying that Xander has been patrolling by himself?" asked Buffy as her eyes narrowed into thin, angry, slits.

"Yes, but before you give into your impulse to go off and thrash him, please listen to the rest of my argument."

"Talk, then hurt Xander, I can do that."

"When I agreed to help you and Willow push Xander out of the group it wasn't to keep him form harm. After the love spell he cast I've has serious doubts about his reasons for fighting the forces of darkness. I thought that perhaps he simply wanted to stay close with his childhood friend, or perhaps he thought that being physically close to you would let you see him in a romantic way. The fact that he is patrolling on his own, risking his life with no chance of recognized glory among his friends has dispelled those doubts though."

"Yeah, good for Xander. Can I go and make sure he doesn't patrol anymore?"

"Not yet. I've admitted my true reasons for no longer allowing Xander to patrol; I think you should do the same."

"I already told you, I don't want him to get hurt. Now if you'll excuse me I need to find Xander so I can break his legs so he can't patrol," said Buffy as she turned so she could begin her search for her best male friend.

"Buffy!" snapped Giles in a tone that would do any parent proud. "Are you even listening to yourself, you'll prevent him from being hurt by inflicting bodily damage on him?"

"Lets see here, wheelchair or dead," said Buffy as she mimed weighing each option in her hand. "What do you know, wheelchair wins."

"Buffy despite the way you seem to enjoy butchering the English language I know that you are an intelligent young woman. This means that you know just as well as I do that Xander has never been seriously injured while out on patrol with you. In fact the truth of the matter is that his unique perspective helped us defeat the Judge, a demon that was supposed to be undefeatable. Both are reasons to keep him close, not push him away."

For a while Buffy simply looked at the floor, the internal battle she was facing obvious, before she said, "I just wanted him to get out before it was too late."

"Too late for what precisely?"

"To be normal. It's like I can't have a normal life anymore, and neither can anyone I'm close to. My boyfriend is a cursed master vampire that's celebrated his bicentennial, and Willow has gone from a normal hacker to witch dating a werewolf. Everyone that knows about my life seems to be changed until they're just as stuck in the crummy supernatural world as I am, and there's this little voice in the back of my head that says that if Xander keeps fighting he'll come back with horns or something one day.

"I know it's selfish and wrong, but I want to have one friend to have a long, normal, and boring life."

"It's not selfish to want to give someone else something you think you can not have Buffy," said Giles. "However if ever the phrase the road to hell is paved with good intentions applies, it's here."

"Who knew that good intentions looked so much like cheep linoleum," said Buffy as she scuffed her shoe on the school floor.

"Funny," said Giles as he allowed himself a small smile. "The fact remains though that if you continue this course of action you will simply loose Xander as a friend, and not be there when he patrols on his own."

"Okay, point taken, Xander is officially back in the slayage loop," conceded Buffy. She could live with herself if Xander hated her and lived, but she couldn't live with herself if Xander hated her and died fighting demons.

"Glad to hear it," said Giles as he briefly placed his hand on Buffy's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Now I believe we've made Wesley wait long enough for your report, so it would probably be best for us to return to the library before he takes to listing at the door."

"Oh, wouldn't that be just too bad," said Buffy with a mischievous smile as she quickly opened the library doors, and was only slightly disappointed when they missed hitting Wesley by a couple inches.


End file.
